Pretending To Be Affectionate [Transmigration] - Chapter 55

“If you ask me, when you encounter a pervert like Fang Jia, you should just slap her across the face and knock her out.”

Ling Yu held the phone between her chin and cheek, took a sun hat from the cloakroom, and put it on her head.

Xu Miao sounded even angrier than she was, amused by the other party’s familiar, blunt, and foolish way of talking.

Ling Yu felt much better. In fact, her relationship with Fang Jia really didn’t need to escalate to violence. Given Fang Jia’s personality, the fact that she didn’t rush in and get into her bed last night.

That was already quite good.

But living together again was absolutely impossible.

Ling Yu could be very tolerant of every ex who didn’t cross her line, or a pursuer like Aunt Fang.

Especially girls… except for one Gu Qing.

On the other end of the phone, Xu Miao didn’t speak, failing to grasp the ‘Sea King’s’ inclusive generosity.

She sighed, pretending to be wise and just: “Fine. If you insist on remembering Fang Jia’s kindness from a few years ago when she secretly helped you deal with Yu Xin. I have nothing more to say. But Yuyu, I have to remind you, didn’t you already repay her for that help? I recall you wrote the copy for Fang’s new jewelry line three years ago… that advertisement became a household name.”

Ling Yu’s lips twitched. She didn’t respond. She thought, We must be polite to ladies.

The corner of her eye glanced at the time on her wristwatch. The hour hand pointed to nine in the morning.

It was the weekend. Normally, Xu Miao would be up all night playing games, so this was her sleeping time.

“Didn’t stay up late last night?”

Xu Miao’s voice halted. Only now did she suddenly remember the purpose of this call.

She had an even more shocking topic to ask about!

Xu Miao violently pinched her thigh, straightened her body, and said with a serious tone: “Yuyu, what did you do with my cousin’s ID card two years ago?”

“Your cousin?” Ling Yu didn’t react. She was standing in front of the full-length mirror, raising her hand to adjust the brim of her hat. Summer in Hong Kong City was even hotter than in Jiangcheng. Ling Yu looked at the blazing sun outside.

She thought for a moment, turned to the suitcase she had packed, opened the lid, took out her makeup bag, and applied a layer of isolation cream followed by sunscreen on her face.

Only the rustling sound of Ling Yu rummaging through her things came through the receiver.

Xu Miao heard it vaguely, so she repeated her question: “The exact time was before you went abroad. I remember you asked me for my cousin’s ID card one night… Little sister, what did you do with that thing?”

Ling Yu’s eyes were half-closed. It took her a full ten seconds to recall the event.

She had used Xu Miao’s cousin’s ID card to sign the priority publishing rights contract with Mo Yang, the editor at CB Literature Publishing.

Based on the timing, the deadline for their contract seemed to be approaching. Treasure Appraisal had been on hiatus for a month due to inaccuracies in some of the knowledge presented. Ling Yu hadn’t logged onto the website, so she hadn’t seen any site messages and had almost forgotten about the contract.

Ling Yu lifted her eyelids. She still didn’t understand why this small matter had caused Xu Miao to make such a big fuss and speak with such a serious tone.

“Did someone from CB Entertainment call your cousin?”

Ling Yu asked instead of answering.

She generally knew that the contract was still valid. Treasure Appraisal was currently being serialized. Even without a formal contract, it was already a popular IP. Although the author, Finding a Fish in the Ocean, wrote purely out of passion and ignored all inquiries about signing, publishing, and film rights.

The novel, due to its solid literary foundation, fast-paced ‘face-slapping’ plot, and innovative methods of treasure appraisal, had become one of the most anticipated major IP literary works of the year.

On the other end of the line, Xu Miao was silent for a long time.

It was the first time Ling Yu had encountered Xu Miao being so nervous. The curve of her lips dropped slightly. She probed: “What’s going on? I remember the contract deadline is the end of next month. I haven’t breached the contract. Did they propose some unreasonable demand…”

“Husband.” Xu Miao suddenly interrupted Ling Yu with a wail. Her voice was slightly choked over the phone line: “Finding a Fish in the Ocean… ha! Is you, Ling Yu! Shame on you, am I not your cousin? How many small red flowers have I bought for you in the last two years? How many times have I called you ‘Husband’? I was clearly bent, but do you know how conflicted I was two years ago when I realized I had fallen for an unseen male author in the two-dimensional world through your writing?”

“I was one second away from thinking I was bisexual and liked men. I almost gave up and labeled myself as bi. If it weren’t for going to the bar to confirm myself—that my body certified that I truly yearned for women—you ruined a perfectly good person! Finding a Fish in the Ocean, are you even human? Dressing up as a man to mislead my sexual orientation!”

Ling Yu’s face was completely cracked. Xu Miao’s celebrity obsession was no secret in the entire Jiangcheng circle.

Ling Yu knew she was crazy, but she never imagined Xu Miao’s pursuit of a two-dimensional author would lead back to her.

Ling Yu coughed, interrupting Xu Miao, who had lost her mind while chasing a celebrity over the phone line: “No, this ‘Sister.’ Don’t call me ‘Husband.’ When did I, as Finding a Fish in the Ocean, ever hint to readers that I was a man?”

Xu Miao choked: “CB Chinese Web is mainly for male-focused power-up novels. Ninety percent of the authors are male…”

“That’s because you haven’t seen it. Girls’ worldview and perspective are no different from men’s,” Ling Yu said flatly: “Talented female authors can write powerful, grand power-up novels. They can also write intimate, small-scale love stories with depth. Of course, I hope one day I can switch freely between the two.”

Ling Yu smiled, but her eyes weren’t the usual polite, fake smile. This was her dream for many years to come.

Xu Miao took a long time to digest this, switching from shock and anger to calm acceptance.

Her tone recovered, and she complained bitterly: “Fine, assume I misunderstood. But… Yuyu. The contract you signed using my cousin’s ID currently has some issues. I need to give you a heads-up. A few days ago, CB Entertainment called my cousin. When they mentioned Finding a Fish in the Ocean, he was unaware of the contract. So, he flatly denied his identity. But they kept harassing him, so he called the police.”

Ling Yu: “…”

Xu Miao’s voice was hesitant: “What should we do now? They already know you used a fake ID. If they sue you over this… I’m worried…”

Ling Yu was stunned, then couldn’t help but laugh. Suing was unlikely. Her penalty for breach of contract was only twenty percent of the total revenue of Treasure Appraisal.

Ling Yu had neither put Treasure Appraisal up for sale nor signed any copyright agreements.

This meant she currently had no income.

If they sued, CB Entertainment would lose money.

At most, the other party would use this as leverage to negotiate. The final outcome would likely just be signing the contract using her real ID.

Ling Yu had used Xu Miao’s cousin’s ID to sign the contract as a precaution, to give herself a cover.

After all, CB Entertainment was a subsidiary of the Gu family.

Ling Yu’s inclusion of editor Mo Yang that night was a coincidence. She had originally planned to assault Gu Qing that night to complete the conquest mission.

She felt a certain level of guilt. She was a person who was both ruthless and sentimental.

She could be generous toward fake lovers, and she couldn’t help but feel a little reluctant toward Lawyer Gu, whom she was about to pull down from her pedestal.

Therefore, that night, she decided to sign the contract with CB Entertainment, thinking that if Gu Qing ever needed help, she could assist her, repaying the ‘prostitution fee’ for forcefully sleeping with her.

She just hadn’t expected Ling Yu to be rejected by Gu Qing in humiliation that night, so the prepared ‘prostitution fee’ was naturally put aside.

Since Ling Yu decided she wouldn’t help Gu Qing, she wasn’t afraid of exposing her identity.

Now that her cousin’s ID couldn’t be used, signing with her own ID didn’t matter much. After all, Ling Yu and Gu Qing had already broken all ties two years ago, and she certainly wouldn’t easily interfere with the other party’s affairs.

Ling Yu was confident that she was a woman of her word.

Ling Yu casually chatted with Xu Miao for a few sentences, ended the call, and opened the door. Fang Jia was changing shoes at the entrance.

Aunt Fang’s towel had long disappeared. She was dressed in a light blue business suit, carrying a handbag, as if she was rushing out for a meeting.

Hearing Ling Yu open the door, Fang Jia instinctively looked over: “Yuyu, I’m going out for a bit…”

“If you’re bored, go out and walk around. The commercial street is five hundred meters ahead. There are large malls like Qianyi and Century Lianhua. There are also many foreign trade shops around. Oh, right, remember to bring the access card when you leave. I put it on the coffee table…”

Fang Jia couldn’t finish her sentence. She saw Ling Yu dragging two large suitcases out of the bedroom.

“Yuyu!” Fang Jia narrowed her eyes, her tone suddenly becoming dangerous: “Don’t throw a tantrum at me. Even if I have feelings for you, what can I do to a grown adult like you? Renting is extremely difficult in the university area. All the new housing is off-plan. There’s no need to hassle yourself by moving into a hotel just because of this small issue of living with me.”

Housing around HKU was highly sought after. Fang Jia had specially used Gu Qing’s connections to secure this rental space.

When she said this, she felt quite wronged internally, thinking, It’s just living together, but Ling Yu is guarding against me like a thief.

Fang Jia felt she had been patient enough, but Ling Yu wasn’t buying it.

She didn’t seem to care. She lifted her eyelids, and the corner of her lips curved into a three-point polite smile: “I’m not used to living with outsiders.”

Ling Yu noticed that Fang Jia’s usually well-maintained fingers tightened when she heard the word “outsiders.”

Remembering Aunt Fang’s help years ago, Ling Yu softened her tone as much as possible: “Aunt Fang, it’s not suitable for us to live together. There are plenty of housing options nearby. My friend just sent me some links, and I think they look pretty good. I’ll go check out the floor plans later. If possible, I might move in this afternoon.”

Fang Jia’s face stiffened. She looked suspiciously at Ling Yu. She didn’t quite believe it. Housing around HKU was extremely tight.

“It’s impossible to find a place that fast. You must have run into a scammer.”

Fang Jia kicked off her high heels and didn’t bother to close the door. She walked toward Ling Yu.

She narrowed her eyes: “Which listing? Let me see…”

Before she could finish, the slightly ajar security door was suddenly pushed open from outside.

When Ling Yu clearly saw the person at the door, her pupils contracted. She ran into her again?

The woman’s outfit today was different from usual. She wore a black V-neck vest covered by a thin black cardigan shirt, paired with dark gray wide-leg pants.

She lifted the sleeves of her cardigan. Her lips were coated in a bright red lip glaze. Although her expression hadn’t changed much from her usual look, the casual outfit made her look a little more languid.

Gu Qing just stood by the door and didn’t step in. She bent her fingers and politely knocked on the security door, just as Fang Jia turned around.

Her cool eyes swept over Ling Yu, then settled on Fang Jia. Her gaze held little warmth. Her eyes met Fang Jia’s, and then she reminded her faintly: “The CEO of Yi Ke Jewelry is hard to schedule a meeting with. She has a weird temper. If you plan for your gathering today to fall through without success, you can try stalling a little longer…”